Lynchburg students interested in attending the University of Lynchburg or another local institution can now take advantage of the city’s Stay Close, Go Far Scholarship on a semester-by-semester basis. The new, extended deadline to apply is July 15.
“We are vividly aware that COVID-19 has created a great amount of uncertainty in the college planning process for the fall,” Lynchburg Beacon of Hope, which created the scholarship in partnership with the city, wrote on its Facebook page last week. Initially, the deadline for this academic year was May 15.
There will be a virtual information session at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 25. The session is open to parents, guardians and students. Register here to attend.
The first local initiative of its type in Virginia, Stay Close, Go Far was launched in the fall of 2018 to help eliminate the financial barriers that can prevent students from attending college, and to train and retain Lynchburg’s future workforce. Beacon of Hope calls it a “Promise” program.
“Lynchburg’s Promise is really quite different from other Promise programs around the country,” Beacon of Hope Executive Director Laura Hamilton said when the scholarship was created. “It is a bi-lateral approach. Beacon of Hope works hand-in-hand with Lynchburg City Schools through the Future Centers to eliminate the academic, social, and organizational barriers that may have derailed students in the past — and the Promise helps to close the financial gap, remove the financial barriers that can roadblock our students’ futures.”
Stay Close, Go Far is a last-dollar scholarship: students are required to exhaust other avenues of financial assistance first by filling out the FAFSA. Stay Close, Go Far provides $2,000 annually or up to $8,000 over four years for Lynchburg City Schools graduates. For details and to apply, visit Beacon of Hope’s website.
